Getting out of traffic.

One more thing about getting to and from Toronto. I was paying attention to my experience of getting to YVR and Pearson, and it’s really astonishing what a difference it makes being on a train that’s separated from traffic. The thing is, I’m a bit of an anxious traveller. I’m not a nervous flyer or anything like. I worry about getting to the airport on time.

For somebody in that kind of headspace, the worst part about getting to YVR is getting to the Canada Line. There I was on Friday afternoon, well before the afternoon rush, but still dealing with the B-Line gong show, trying to get to Broadway-City Hall station. Why would a bus stay at stop for over four minutes? For so long that we got passed by the B-Line behind us? I really couldn’t say. The bus was too full for anyone to see what was going on, so we just sat there, going nowhere. Similarly, knowing that it can take anywhere between 20 minutes and an hour to get from the Danforth to Pearson — depending on traffic — is infuriating. And even though it was late on a Sunday night, we still hit traffic — enough to seriously screw with our plans for getting to airport with lots of time to spare.

But being on the train, and knowing exactly how long it was going to take — there’s just no uncertainty there. At that point, if you know you’re on schedule, there’s just nothing left to worry about.